The old department rules allow officers who are untruthful a couple of times to get away with just reprimands. But under a zero-tolerance standard to go in effect next week, any NOPD member who lies on the job or who files a false police report can be fired immediately.

“If you lie, you die,” Superintendent Serpas said in announcing the new standard. “If you tell this Police Department a lie about anything, you will be terminated.”

New Orleanians expect no less.

The new rule for disciplining rogue officers is part of a 65-point police reform plan the superintendent and Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced this week. The measures are a welcome strategy to try to turn around one of the worst and most brutal police departments in America.

That’s no exaggeration. Recently, 18 current and former NOPD officers have been charged with killing innocent civilians around the time of Hurricane Katrina or with covering up the crimes. The revelations have been despicable, and five officers have pleaded guilty so far. Additional federal investigations of police brutality are expected to yield even more indictments.

The police morass is sure to be highlighted as the nation’s attention turns to our region during the fifth anniversary of Katrina, and that is understandable. It’s good timing for the mayor and the superintendent to present their plan now, and the steps being taken to reform the department should be noted.

The Serpas strategy includes numerous steps that have been implemented since the Landrieu administration took office in May. They include department-wide reviews by the U.S. Justice Department at the request of the mayor, an audit of questionable crime statistics and a police reorganization aimed at focusing resources on violent crime and community policing.

Just as important, Superintendent Serpas is re-establishing internal oversight mechanisms set up during former Superintendent Richard Pennington’s successful tenure. Those controls, designed to give early warning about troubled officers, were largely dismantled under the Nagin administration — allowing rogue officers to go unchecked.

That was a great disservice to New Orleanians. As the superintendent said, “The insult committed on this community by so many officers is something we can never forget and will never forget.”

The police misconduct also hurt the many honest officers who serve in the Police Department and whose reputation has been tainted by their colleagues crimes.

That’s why the new strategy must be successful to heal this cancerous department.